I did quite a bit of research before this cruise to find something that would suit my likes and budget. I'm 66, retired and travel on my own. Looking for reasonable comfort, quality food and sunshine. I quickly honed in on NCL and especially the Norwegian Epic. I really liked their concept of Freestyle Dining, large choice of restaurants and the Epic's studio cabins. They looked well designed and appointed. And the pricing worked out within my budget. I don't need an outside cabin. Couldn't find anyone else with this sort of offering.

In choosing late August I managed a balance between price and, I hoped, good weather. Whilst I'm not too bothered about the itinerary, it still offered some interesting ports should I decide to explore.

I stayed before the cruise with friends in the south of Spain and then got the hi-speed AVE direct from Malaga to Barcelona. Stayed overnight at the Barcelo Sants hotel directly above the station. Excellent value, recommended. That evening went out for some tapas just off Las Ramblas with some fellow cruisers I'd met on-line through a roll call on cruisecritic.com. (We then had a meeting with some of the officers on the first day at sea which gave us some contacts if we needed them. I was also able to meet and get to know quite a few people on the cruise. Recommend you join a roll call.) Read more